2nd Lt. Christopher Loudon graduated from Slippery Rock University with a Baccalaureate Degree in Environmental Health in 2005. Upon graduation, he entered the United States Army on September 9, 2005. He received his commission as an Infantry officer and was assigned to 2nd Platoon, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Hood, Texas. He deployed to Iraq in July 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

2nd Lt. Loudon’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Ranger Tab.

He was KIA in Baghdad, Iraq when an IED detonated near his vehicle. Also killed with him were; Corporal David M. Unger, 21, of Leavenworth, Kansas ;Corporal Russell G. Culbertson III, 22, of Amity, Pennsylvania and Specialist Joseph C. Dumas Jr., 25, of New Orleans, Louisiana.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

We saw it with the President election. Support Obama or you're racist. And now it's happening with the successor to his Senate seat. If you happened to catch "Hot Rod" Blagojevich's press conference you would have seen him name form Ill. AG Roland Burris to take Obama's seat. You also would have seen Congressman Bobby Rush issue, what is essentially, a dare to Congress to "go on record to deny one one African-American from being seated in the US Senate". I wonder how many will wilt under this threat?

Not even 7:30 this morning I wake up to my phone ringing. "This chief meteorologist so and so, there is a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for your area". I look outside and see some lighting and a little rain, but nothing that bad. 5-10 minutes later the torrential rain hits. Around 8 am they issue a Tornado warning for my county, that's heading right to me. I have no tornado shelter, but I have to go to the store anyway so I go there for what I need plus the shelter it provides. Don't even have time to comb my hair or wipe the sleep from of my eyes. I get there just after 8:30 and it's pouring. A few minutes later I get a call on my cell. "This chief meteorologist so and so, there is a Tornado Warning for your area. Take cover". Luckily we didn't get anything. With temps in the 70's yesterday it's no wonder we got storms. I just wish the temps would go down into the 40's and just stay there. It was hot last night.

Well, Christmas is over and done with for yet another year. I hope everyone had a great day, got what you wanted and ate till you puked. Let's see, what did Santa bring me? I got a few 360 games, Rammstein: Live Aus Berlin CD, a 'smores/hot cocoa mix kit, a super bright LED flashlight that will blind you if you look into it, and a gift card from Best Buy. I've mentioned in the past that my mom still hangs a stocking for me and tends to fill it with some strange things. Batteries one year, Q-Tips another. This year was no different. Batteries and Q-Tips again, plus two bottles of germ-X hand sanitizer. One blueberry and one green apple. A Star Wars action figure set and a Slinky. And here's something I didn't know. They still sell metal Slinky's. I figured with the way this country's going they would have banned metal Slinky's because they would be "too dangerous" for kids. Go figure.

So, as I sit here, eating cold leftovers for dinner, reflecting on the day, I have to say it was a pretty good Christmas.

To the Men and Women of the United States military, and all the armed forces around the world, thank you for everything that you do. And to those who are laying their heads down tonight in a foreign land, away from your loved ones, thank you so very much. Stay safe, you're in our thoughts and our hearts. Merry Christmas.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

A funny, nice guy who loved to fly. That's how Christian P. Humphreys is remembered by his friends. "He was a great guy, always happy and had a joke," said Sean Whitney, a flight medic. "We used to play with our paintball guns in the cornfields behind his house."

Humphreys flew with the Fallon Naval Air Station Search and Rescue Longhorns from June 6, 2004, to May 5, 2006. He left the Navy and joined the Army as part of the "Blue to Green" program to become a helicopter pilot.

Humphreys, along with Chief Warrant Officer 3 Donald V. Clark, 37 years old from Tennessee, was killed when their OH-58 Kiowa helicopter crashed while on a mission over Mosul, Iraq. As a rescue crew chief, Humphreys was in charge of the operation behind the pilots. He made the decisions when to deploy rescue crews out of the helicopter to assist injured people, and he also took care of the equipment.

"He was a funny guy, a nice guy, a lot of character," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Justin Schmidt. "The guy was always entertaining, always had something to say, but like everyone here, he displayed the professionalism in saving lives."

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

We all know Keith Olbermann's intolerant obsession with Bill O'Reilly. He needs O'Reilly to generate the paltry ratings his show gets. I don't think he can go a night without mentioning Bill O. Well, on Wednesday's episode it kind of backfired on him. On Tuesday's episode of the FNC show "Red Eye With Greg Gutfeld", a great show by the way, they had someone on from High Times magazine. He made a joke about how Fox News's green room had the best pot and one of the co-hosts of the show made a joke where he said "Mr. O'Reilly doesn't like people to touch is stash", or something like that. When the show aired the words "Mr. O'Reilly" was beeped. Olbermann, in his all his wisdom, assumed that Fox News had beeped it because it reflected bad on "The Worst" Bill O'Reilly. What Olbermann failed to realize was that the host, Greg Gutfeld, had had the name beeped on purpose just for Olbermann to mention it on his show. And the stupid bastard fell for it hook, line and sinker. Hate is a powerful thing, eh Keith.

I don't know what exactly is in that video, as I can't watch it, but I hope it's the piece from Countdown and Gutfeld's reaction.

I'm 29-years-old. I haven't been a kid for 17 years, and I don't shop for kids, so I have no idea what to get kids or even what they like. I knew one thing I wanted to get. A Teddy Bear for a boy and one for a girl. Every little kid should have a Teddy Bear. I never did, though. So I got one for each, then came the hard part. What to get for older kids. What do kids between the ages of, say, 8-10 like these days? When I was at that age I was still playing with my little green army men, Transformers and He-Man. Kids today at that age a far ahead of where I was, so what to get them? I was surprised to find out that Wal-Mart doesn't have as many toys as one would think. As I said, I don't shop for kids, so I ended up getting a basketball hoop that hangs on the back of a door and a Bratz doll. Also, people, if you do buy a doll for TFT, or whatever, please remember that there are more than just White girls who like dolls. I'm willing to bet that most people don't even think about something like that.

Louisiana National Guard spokesman Maj. Michael Kazmierzak said Spc. Jonnie L. Stiles had been serving as a gunner on a Humvee doing route clearance when and IED detonated near his vehicle in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He said the job typically involves checking roads for bombs and insurgents.

Stiles' wife, Launa, said that he was nearly killed last month when a suicide bomber blew up a military vehicle in front of his. She said he was still able to rescue three other soldiers and returned to duty before his 30-day recovery period was finished.

"He was strong and really cared for his men," she said.

Stiles was born in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and graduated from Littleton High School in Colorado. He served in the military for 17 years, first joining the Marines and then switching to the Army in 1999. He served three years at Fort Carson, left the Army and then returned as a member of the Colorado Air National Guard in the Summer of 2007.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

I love how the media is trying to spin it to make it seem like Obama is reaching out with his choices for his cabinet. No, he's not. He's filling them with fellow Liberal Democrats. Now, some may be rivals in the sense that they were campaigning against him for the presidency, but they're still people who agree with him on most issues. Now, were he appointing Conservatives who don't support him to spots in his cabinet then he would be appointing rivals. As it is, they're just more yes men.

"He was a very creative kid, and when he wasn't in a challenging environment, he tried to make life interesting," Glenn Morris, father of Spc. Morris, said. "He excelled in a military school structure and in a team environment."

Before enlisting in the Army in 2005, Morris attended the Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro, Virginia where he met a history teacher who inspired him to want to become an educator. "After his service, he wanted to go back to school and get a four-year degree to become a teacher," said his mother, Lisa. "He wanted to make a difference and give back to the community."

Spc. Morris was killed when his vehicle encountered an IED in Balad, Iraq. Also killed in the attack was Cpt. Ulises Burgos-Cruz.

These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived

This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.

Planned Parenthood in Indiana is offering gift certificates for their services such as a breast exam or a pap smear or an abortion. Nothing celebrates the birth of the baby Jesus like the death of yours. Is there a more tasteless gift? Merry Christmas indeed.Story